The Best Skincare Brands For Melanin-Rich Skin

For years, skin of color was an afterthought in the beauty industry. (Shout-out to those of us who’ve had to mix multiple shades of foundation to get a decent match.)

That was the norm until Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty came onto the scene in 2017, unveiling a comprehensive range of 40 base shades with plenty of options for Black and Brown makeup wearers. It led to a phenomenon since dubbed the “Fenty Effect,” which prompted other cosmetics brands to expand their lines.

Now, the movement for inclusivity is coming (finally!) to your skin-care routine.

And it’s about time. As dermatologists have known for years, not only does a melanin-rich epidermis have unique needs, but it also is more prone to dryness and irritation. Plus, “when someone with a darker complexion has an adverse reaction to a product, they face a higher risk of developing hyperpigmentation as a result,” says Nada Elbuluk, MD, a professor of dermatology at the USC Keck School of Medicine and the founding director of the USC Skin of Color and Pigmentary Disorders Program.

Meet the experts: Nada Elbuluk, MD is a professor of dermatology at the USC Keck School of Medicine and the founding director of the USC Skin of Color and Pigmentary Disorders Program, Neelam Vashi, MD, is a professor of dermatology at Boston University School of Medicine and the founding director of the Boston University Center for Ethnic Skin and Victoria Barbosa, MD, a professor of dermatology at the University of Chicago and president-elect of the Skin of Color Society

In true better-late-than-never fashion, brands are now developing serums, creams, and the like that are targeted toward—and tested on—skin of color. Welcome to the new age of beauty, where a healthy glow is something everyone can achieve.

More than Melanin

The biggest distinction between Caucasian and, say, African American skin is the amount of melanin, or pigment, that’s found in deeper tones—it’s more plentiful and much darker, says Neelam Vashi, MD, a professor of dermatology at Boston University School of Medicine and the founding director of the Boston University Center for Ethnic Skin. Because of this, people with tan, olive, or brown complexions have some built-in sun protection—though not nearly enough to skip SPF—and they also tend to have naturally uneven skin tone. (This is different from a fairer person with freckles; those little spots are caused by intrinsic factors like genetics and also extrinsic ones such as sun damage.)

“People of color are predisposed to conditions like melasma and dark spots caused by acne, called post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, both of which can further increase the appearance of unevenness,” says Victoria Barbosa, MD, a professor of dermatology at the University of Chicago and president-elect of the Skin of Color Society. This remains the case even as skin ages.

Skin of color also tends to be drier, more sensitive, or both. Those of African or Afro-Caribbean descent have a moisture barrier that functions slightly differently; for these groups, it can be “harder to hold in the fatty acids and lipids that keep skin hydrated,” says Dr. Vashi. The same goes for some Asian populations, which tend to have higher rates of skin irritability. On the flip side, these groups do tend to develop wrinkles and fine lines much later in life. (All generalizations, of course, and this also doesn’t account for cross-cultural backgrounds.)

Taking on Testing

When it comes to cosmetics clinicals, people of color have historically been overlooked—an obvious problem. “If you only test on lighter tones, you’ll only know what happens with lighter tones,” Dr. Vashi says. That’s led to a gap in understanding how well a product will perform on melanin-rich skin. Could it cause irritation? Will it be as effective? It’s hard to know, if darker skin types aren’t represented in this stage of the development process.

Thankfully, that’s starting to change. For Dior’s new firming product, Capture Totale Le Sérum, the brand sought to improve upon the Fitzpatrick scale, which divides skin into six types based on its color and tendency to burn or tan in the sun (1 is the lightest; 6 is the darkest). If this sounds overly simplistic, that’s because it is. “Skin tone is much broader than a mere six variations—you can find a range from beige to pink within the same shade,” says Virginie Couturaud, the scientific communications director at Dior.

So, Dior developed a span of 110 complexion hues powered by the color system Pantone, then recruited more than 600 people to ensure each was represented in the testing process for Le Sérum. As a result of their findings, the team tweaked the formula. They discovered that while the thickness of skin remains the same across different ethnic backgrounds, the number of cell layers and size of the moisture barrier can differ. In response, Dior implemented a delivery system that allows the serum to “pass through the cutaneous barrier of all types,” Couturaud says. Do formulas that aren’t tested in this way absorb equally across a wide spectrum of users? Hard to know.

When it comes to sunscreen, one of the few topical products for which extensive testing is required by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, the bias seems baked in from the very start. Sunscreen protection factor, or SPF, is a measure of how long it takes skin to burn when protected by sunscreen versus without. But it’s a purely visual test, meaning scientists determine SPF by how long it takes them to detect erythema—or redness—with the naked eye. Currently, the FDA requires brands to test their sunscreens only on Fitzpatrick skin types 1, 2, and 3. That’s a problem because “in the darker types 5 and 6, you may not be able to see redness,” says Sophie Bai, founder of the skin-care brand Pavise.

These testing limitations can result in real-world problems: A sunscreen with SPF 50, for example, may provide that level of protection only for fair-skinned people; it could be less in darker individuals. And while the difference in protection between, say, an SPF 30 and an SPF 50 may seem small (a 30 lets in 3 percent of UVB rays, while the 50 allows in 2 percent), think of it this way: The lower SPF is still allowing almost 50 percent more UVB radiation to penetrate.

That’s why, when developing Pavise’s Dynamic Age Defense SPF 30, Bai focused on skin of color in optimizing the formula’s performance. She tested on the darkest type recommended by the FDA and formulated with zinc oxide that appears completely transparent on even the darkest skin.

The Injection Question Not-so-fun fact: “The typical Phase III clinical trial on muscle-relaxing neurotoxins like Botox and Dysport has about 90 percent white females in the 50-year-old range,” says Rui Avelar, MD, chief medical officer at Evolus, a company manufacturing a competitor called Jeuveau (which was studied in a broader range of subjects). Lack of data on how skin of color responds to these injections means it’s hard to tell whether they’ll work well, if there’s a difference in safety, or if providers should adjust doses. Bottom line: There’s more work to be done, but Evolus’s efforts show that progress is happening.

Formulating the Future

In the way that having a doctor of the same race or ethnicity can lead to better health outcomes, skin-care brands being founded by people of color means there’s unique insight in the mix. “You need the wisdom of a diversity of lived experiences to inform the entire process,” says Dr. Barbosa.

Skin-care brand Eadem was born after cofounders Marie Kouadio Amouzame and Alice Lin Glover noticed “a lack of gentle, effective products that work on darker skin,” says Kouadio Amouzame. Off the bat, they implemented certain standards across the brand, like running clinical tests on people of color and creating formulas that can address hyperpigmentation without lightening surrounding skin. Their Milk Marvel Dark Spot Serum uses a nonirritating form of vitamin C and an algae that fights discoloration without compromising tone.

Similarly, the founders of the brand Sepia, Mike Modula and Anna Bueno, set out to test their Eventide Retinol Renewal Serum on every Fitzpatrick skin type. Third-party testing companies balked at the ask—only one agreed to do it, and for an additional cost. To Modula and Bueno, it was worth it; they’re confident Sepia’s retinol can be used by all without irritation.

And hopefully, as more brands rise to the challenge of delivering these types of products, we’ll see the industry as a whole continue to adapt. “The need is there,” says Dr. Vashi. “The U.S. is changing. We are much more ethnically diverse.”

The Best Products For Dark Skin

Sepia Eventide Retinol Renewing Serum

Retinol is effective at smoothing skin and brightening but can be irritating on dark tones. Not this one—it was tested for gentleness.

Eadem Milk Marvel Dark Spot Serum

At last, a serum for melanin-rich complexions that tackles patches of discoloration without lightening skin around it.

Dior Capture Totale Le Sérum

A firming serum that’s been shown to be effective on more than 600 participants representing 110 different skin tones.

The Body Shop Vitamin E Bi-Phase Serum

The Body Shop has committed to making its product-testing pool more diverse, as it did when creating this moisturizing serum.

Pavise Dynamic Age Defense SPF

Mineral SPFs are not typically friendly to every face (hello, white cast). This one was specifically created to be super sheer.

Deanna Pai is a freelance beauty writer and editor currently based in New York. She has more than 10 years of experience writing about beauty and wellness.